Rectangular basket



Jan. 16, 1934. L. M. HILE 1,943,825

RECTANGULAR BASKET Filed July 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 @firm/7 @ggf/2%@ @www Jan' 16 3 Sheets-Sheet. 5

L. M. HILE ANGULAR BASKET Filed July 25, 1930 l l l l Patented Jan. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

This invention relates to rectangular baskets, and more particularly to those formed of staves or splints that extend integrally from the top of the basket, down one' side thereof and across the bottom and up the other side of the basket, and more particularly to baskets of this kind that taper downwardly.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby a basket of this general character is provided with a continuous lower bottom hoop, without any overlapping joint therein, and other wood hoops, or hoops oi suitable material, which are preferably secured in place by staples inserted through these hoops and through the staves or splints forming the sides of the basket.

Another object is to provide a novel and iinproved construction whereby the bottom of the basket is substantially iiat and is formed by arranging the two outside staves of two opposite sides of the basket at the upper side of the bottom, and by arranging the other staves of the sides on the lower side of the bottom, whereby other staves are at the upper side of the bottom.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general efficiency and the desirability o a basket of this particular construction.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective of a basket embodying the principles of the invention, showing the same upside down;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of said basket, right side 11D;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of said basket on line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail section of said basket;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the mat in flat condition, from which the sides and bottom of said basket are formed;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing a different form of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 5, showing the form of mat or web employed in the construction of the basket shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

As thus illustrated, referring to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the invention comprises nat side walls composed of staves or splints 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, forming twosides and a part of the bottom of the basket, and staves or splints 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, forming the other two opposite sides of the basket and a part of the bottom. There is an outside bottom hoop 13 of angle iron, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings, held in place by staples 14 inserted through said angle iron and the staves or splints of the basket. The said staves or splints preferably overlap each other, along their parallel edges, and at the bottom of the basket the staves are fastened together by staples l5 inserted through the double thickness of Veneer or other material provided by these staves. An outside middle hoop 16 of wood or other suitable material is provided and reinforced, if desired, by a binding wire 17 held in place by the staples i8 inserted crosswise oi said wire and through said hoop and the staves. The top of the basket is provided with outside and inside hoops 19 and 20 of wood or other suitable rnaterial, and an outside binding wire 21 can be provided and held in place by staples 22 inserted crosswise of this wire and through the two'hoops and through the staves.

Looking at Fig. 5, it will be seen that the staves l and 6 are at the top side of the bottom of the basket, while the staves 2, 3, e and 5 are at the lower side of said bottom, because of the manner in which the staves are interwoven and fastened together. In this way, the intermediate staves for two opposite sides of the basket are at the lower side of the bottom, while the intermediate staves for the other two opposite sides are at the upper side of the bottom. in this way, the bottom of the basket is slightly bulged upward, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, when the basket is finished, the hoop 13 being of such size that it will hold the basket bottom in this condition whereby the basket has, in effect, a flat, or flattened, but upwardly bulging, bottom.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it will be seen that the construction here is similar, but in this case the bottom is iiatter and the bottom hoop 23 is a ilat wood hoop reinforced by a binding wire 24, similar to those previously described. The middle hoop 25 is a binding wire only, held in place by the staples 26, and the top hoop construction 27 of the basket is simila" to that previously shown and described. In this case, however, the bottom of the basket is not only llatter, but is somewhat different because of the dilerent arrangement of the staves or splints shown in Fig. '7, which latter shows the mat or web from which the bottom and sides of the basket, shown in Fig. 6, are made. In this case, therefore, the live staves 28 are all underneath the two outside staves 29, while the intermediate staves 30 are all underneath the staves 28, and the staves are all held together by the staples 31, as shown. Also, in Figs. 6 and 7, the splints do not overlap each other along their parallel edges.

In both forms of the invention, therefore, there is a bottom provided by staves or splints arranged at right angles to each other, in more or less interwoven relation, and there is also a bottom hoop which is rectangular, but which is rounded at the corners of the basket where the hoop is bent at right angles, whereby the basket has a bottom hoop providing a rim that will rest upon the floor or other support.

It will be understood, of course, that an ordinary wood hoop may be used in place of the angle iron hoop at the bo-ttom of the baskets, in order to maintain the upward bulge of the bottom, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The bottom is substantially at, in the sense that the outer rim of the bottom rests on the floor all around, but if desired, the bottom may bulge slightly upward as shown, and either the angle iron hoop or the wood hoop may be used for this purpose.

In both forms of the invention, as shown in Figs. 5 and 'I of the drawings, it will be seen that the staves are arranged in two groups, crosswise at their center, forming four basket sides of equal length. The panel-like two-ply bottom thus formed, in each form of the invention, involves some of the staves of the rst group extending over portions of the second group, and some of the portions of the second group extending over portions of the first group, whereby each group has some portions on the under side of the bottom, and some portions on the upper side of the bottom. In each case, a rectangular row of staples is inserted around the margin of the bottom. Also, in each form of the invention, a bottom hoop is applied of a size to cause the rectangular bottom to bulge upwardly within the basket, and the hoop is fastened in place in a manner to maintain this upward bulge. In Fig. l of the drawings, the bottom hoop is a preformed metal hoop of angle formation, and it is sta-pled in place in the manner shown and described, after the blank formed from the staves is bent into basket shape.

In each form of the invention, therefore, the basket is provided with four sides of equal area, so that one basket of this kind has four nesting positions in another basket of the same kind. Furthermore, it will be seen that a basket of this kind, embodying the invention as shown and described, is free from curvature strain at each of the four flat sides thereof. rI'his means that the square hoops are free from tension or curvature strain, particularly at the place where any joints occur in the hoops, such as the straight lap-joints shown for the inner and outer hoops in Fig. 2 of the drawings. These joints are straight, and therefore they are not under any strain that tends to make them spring apart.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. The construction of a downwardly tapered square basket having its four sides of equal area of parallel staves in another group, with one group crossing the other at the center thereof, with some intermediate portions of the first group extending over some intermediate portions of the second group, and with some intermediate portions of the second group extending over some intermediate portions of the first group, thereby forming a rectangular panel-like two-ply bottom for the basket, the major portion of the lower surface of said bottom being formed unbrokenly by staves of vthe rst group, and the major portion of the upper surface of said bottom being formed unbrokenly by staves of the second group, a rectangular row of staples around the margin of the rectangular bottom, thereby to permanently fasten the two groups of staves together, with the ends of said groups of uniform length, while maintaining the staves of each group parallel and closely adjacent to each other, at their edges, in the portions ultimately forming the side walls of the basket, with said ends bent upward into outwardly inclined positions, forming tapered spaces between the adjacent edges of the four sides, and substantially rectangular hoops fastened to the downwardly-tapered square basket thus formed, free from curvature strain, whereby one basket thus constructed has four predetermined nesting positions in another basket of the same kind.

2. A construction as specied in claim 1, comprising the fastening of one of said hoops around the bottom of the basket, causing the crossed staves of the two groups to bulge upwardly within the basket, and means for fastening this hoop in position to maintain said upward bulge.

3. A construction as specified in claim l, comprising a preformed metal hoop of angle formation fitted to the bottom of the basket, of a size to cause the basket bottom to bulge upwardly within the basket, and fastening this preformed hoop in position to maintain said upward bulge.

4. A construction as specified in claim 1, comprising the encircling binding wires attached to the basket, in addition to said hoops, thereby maintaining the downward taper of the basket.

5. A construction as specied in claim l, comprising the stapling of a preformed sheet-metal angle hoop around the bottom of the basket, providing a wear-resisting metal rim around the rectangular bottom of the basket.

6. A construction as specified in claim l, comprising the encircling binding wires attached to one or more of said hoops.

'7. A construction as specified in claim l, comprising encircling binding wires attached to one or more of said hoops during the initial stapling of said hoops in place.

8. A construction as specified in claim l, said first group of staves comprising the staves 29 and 30 and the second group comprising the staves 28, arranged as shown and described.

LESLIE M. HILE. 

